To the disappointment of my SFGate.com comment critics, and probably to the Bay Guardian, which once called me a "conservative suburban twit," my family and I moved into the city last week. After 20 years in the suburbs, we're a downtown San Francisco family now.

Because I never thought I was that conservative in the first place, I guess now I'm just a twit.

Honestly, I have to admit that the critics had a point. If you write about the problems in the city, it is better to spend your nights there, hear the traffic, the sirens, and the occasional tenor, crooning arias in an echoing alley.

But I'd also say that our experience is as typically San Franciscan as the North Beach native who has lived, worked and gone to school within a 10-block radius.

I came to San Francisco 30 years ago, when Herb Caen ruled the newspaper pages and the Raiders were a powerhouse football team. I ate at the Washington Square, ran the Bay to Breakers, got my hair cut on Haight Street and sipped nightcap Irish coffees at the Cliff House.

There were thousands of us then, and thousands more today, young transplants, discovering a great little restaurant around the corner and meeting new friends on a sunny weekend afternoon on the Marina Green. The vibe may be more Mission than Marina today, but it would be hard to convince me that the experience is much different. This is just a great place to be young and unfettered.

The next act of the script was the same for many of us. We met a life partner and started a family. A baby arrived, so instead of meeting people while walking the dog, you talked to other parents pushing a stroller.

And then the game-changer - the factor that probably drives more young couples out of the city than anything else. It's not panhandlers, the crime, or noise, or traffic. It is the curse of the third bedroom.

It isn't actually true that units with three bedrooms don't exist. That's just how it seems. The prices are shocking, the selection is minimal, and the schools are an enigma. And it finally dawns on you that for less than what you are paying in San Francisco, you could live in the suburbs and not only have a third bedroom, but a yard, private parking and warm summer days.

The next thing you know you're eating at Applebee's and reminiscing about that great little pasta place in the city where the owner remembered your name. There's no shame in it. Supervisor Chris Daly, who has mocked suburban commuters, seems to have made the same calculation. Dealing with two kids in a small urban space surrounded by pavement, Daly packed up and moved his family to Fairfield. Hey, no judging here - I've been there.

But I think that's changing. The other day I heard someone say something simple and smart.

"No one, in the history of the world," he said, "ever washed his rental car."

His point was: We only care about what we own.

More people are taking ownership in San Francisco. There are empty nesters like us, moving back to the city. (And yes, we realize we are not cool and will try to stay out of your way.)

But better are the families who are determined to make it work. That's why the sit/lie debate began in the Haight. It's a family-friendly place where home prices are not completely out of control. But with families comes a desire for safety, order and civil behavior. Those who rail against gentrification are going to lose this debate. Kids trump ideology every time.

So I'm eager to see how this plays out. It's foolish to say the city is changing - it's been changing since Emperor Norton roamed the streets. But it will be interesting to see how it changes. The only difference is I have a better seat at the show.

For those who are curious what part of town we've moved to, it's in District Six. That's right, Supervisor Daly is moving out of the district and I am moving in. I'll let you decide if that's a fair trade.